St. Paul Athletic Club
The 'St. Paul Athletic Club' played hockey at the highest level of league play at ' '''the time in American history. They were a dominant force in amateur hockey ' 'before the NHL had yet established a US presence before World War I. The ' '''domination came mostly from defenseman 'Francis Xavier (Moose) Goheen' a ' '''White Bear Lake native contemporary to Hobey Baker. Tony Conroy, Nick ' 'Kahler and Ed Fitzgerald were other dominant players for the early AC hockey ' 'team. The Athletic Club won the MacNaughton Cup -- in 1916 and again in 1919--' 'then symbolic of supremacy in Western U.S. hockey to honor the winner of the ' 'senior league American Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA). Today the ' 'MacNaughton cup is the trophy for the WCHA season champion. Goheen ' '''enlisted in the service for World War I, as did Conroy. They were also teammates on the U.S. team that won the silver medal in the '1920 Olympics in Antwerp', Belgium. Following WWI the AAHA fell apart and a new National league was formed called the 'United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA)'. The teams were only in US soil and competed at the time for the coveted Fellowes Cup. In 1922 and 1923 the AC's advanced to the finals only to come up short on each occassion. The NHL arrived in US soil in 1924 and with it ended the major league amateur hockey association, and thus ended the AC's illustrious era a year later. By 1925 professional hockey and the NHL with it's large contracts, and risks of "invasions" in the minor league systems had layed it's roots throughout the nation. St. Paul became a member of the professional 'Central Hockey League (CPHL)', then called the 'American Hockey Association (AHA)' this same year of 1926-1927 and were renamed the 'St. Paul Saints' which bagan play in December of 2006. The "Saints" had been the nickname of the AC's for many years. Goheen and others signed contracts that kept them in Minnesota for years after the AC's dissolved play. The Saints continued in Minnesota in the AHA most seasons until 1942 when play ceased operations for WWII. Goheen had offers from 'Toronto' and 'Boston' to go the NHL, but he stayed in his hometown of White Bear Lake where he continued to work for Northern States Power while playing hockey for the Saints. Goheen became the second American inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952, after Hobey Baker. "I never saw him play, obviously, but I had oldtimers tell me the tales about him as a wonderful athlete," 'Glen Sonmor' said. "He would get the puck near his net and carry it right up the middle, time after time." ''' '''The AC's hockey era in Minnesota namely layed the framework for what the 'Minnesota Wild' today have aptly called the "State-of-Hockey". Without the AC's and their presence in Minnesota prior to the NHL's arrival...Their 'wouldn't' be a "State-of-Hockey". St. Paul AC Season by Season Team Records 1914-1915 No League Competition 1915-1916 America Amateur Hockey Association ' W L T GF GA' St. Paul AC*8 4 0 39 31 America Soo 8 4 1 50 27 Portage Lake 3 7 1 30 47 Calumet 3 7 0 27 41 *St. Paul Defeated American Soo 3 games to 1 for the MacNaughton Cup 1916-1917 No League Competition-Independent 1917-1918 No League Competition-Independent 1918-1919 No League Competition-Independent 1919-1920 American Amateur Hockey Association ' W L T ' St. Paul AC* 9 3 0 Canadian Soo* 9 3 0 America Soo 5 6 1 Portage Lake 0 11 1 *St. Paul and Canadian Soo share the MacNaughton Cup 1920-1921 United States American Hockey Association Group 1 ' ' W L T ''' '''Boston Athletic Association 6 0 0 Shoe Trades Club (Boston) 2 2 0 Quaker City (Philadelphia) 1 4 0 St. Nicholas Club (New York) 1 4 0 Group 2 ' W L T' Celeveland* 8 0 0 St. Paul AC 3 5 0 Duluth Hornets 1 7 0 Group 3 ' W L T' Eveleth Reds 14 1 1 Canadian Soo 13 3 0 American Soo 6 9 1 Calumet 3 13 0 Portage Lake 3 13 0 *Cleveland defeats Eveleth to win Fellowes Cup on total ''' '''goals 14-12 in playoffs 1921-1922 United States American Hockey Association Group 1 ''' '''W L T Westminsters (Boston)* 6 2 0 Boston Athletic Association 5 3 0 Pere Marquette (Boston) 3 4 0 Quaker City (Philadelphia) 3 4 0 St. Nicholas Club (New York) 2 6 0 Group 2 ' ' W L T St. Paul AC 8 4 0 Cleveland 7 5 0 Pittsburgh 5 7 0 Duluth Hornets 4 8 0 Group 3 ' ' W L T Canadian Soo 13 1 0 Eveleth Reds 12 4 0 American Soo 7 6 0 Calumet 2 9 0 Portage Lake 0 14 0 *Westminsters defeats St. Paul AC to win Fellowes ''' '''Cup 3 1/2 games to 1/2 game in playoffs 1922-1923 United States Amateur Hockey Association Eastern Group ' ' W L T Boston Athletic Association* 9 1 0 New Haven Westminsters 6 3 0 Boston Hockey Club6 4 0 St. Nicholas Club(New York) 4 6 0 Canadian Club (New York) 1 8 0 Western Group ' ' W L T St. Paul AC 15 5 0 Cleveland 12 8 0 Eveleth Reds 11 9 0 Pittsburgh 10 10 0 Duluth Hornets 8 12 0 Milwaukee 4 16 0 *Boston Athletic Association defeats St. Paul AC to win Fellowes Cup 3 games to 1 in playoffs 1923-1924 United States Amateur Hockey Association Eastern Group ' ' W L T Boston Athletic Association 9 3 0 New Haven Westminsters 6 6 0 Boston Hockey Club 6 6 0 Maple Athletic Assoc. (Boston) 3 9 0 Western Group ' W L T' Pittsburgh* 15 5 0 St. Paul AC 14 6 0 Cleveland10 10 0 Eveleth Reds 9 11 0 Duluth Hornets 6 14 0 ''' '''Minneapolis Millers 6 14 0 *Pittsburgh defeats Boston Athletic Association to win Fellowes Cup 4 games to 1 in playoffs 1924-1925 United States Amateur Hockey Association Eastern Group ' ' W L T Fort Pitt 17 7 0 Boston Athletic Association 16 6 0 Maple Athletic Association 7 16 0 Boston Hockey Club 3 14 0 Western Group- First Half ' ' W L T Pittsburgh* 15 3 2 Duluth Hornets 11 8 1 Cleveland 10 8 2 Minneapolis Millers 8 10 2 St. Paul AC6 12 2 Eveleth Reds 5 14 1 Western Group- Second Half ' ' W L T Eveleth Reds 13 6 1 Pittsburgh* 10 8 2 St. Paul AC 11 9 0 Minneapolis Millers 8 9 3 Cleveland 8 12 0 Duluth Hornets 6 12 2 * Pittsburgh defeats Fort Pitt to win Fellowes Cup 4 games to 0 in playoffs. 1925-1926 Central Amateur Hockey Association ' ' ' W L T' Minneapolis Millers*22 10 6 Duluth Hornets 18 14 8 Winnipeg 14 15 9 St. Paul AC 15 17 6 Eveleth-Hibbing Rangers 15 16 7 Candian Soo 8 20 4 * Minneapolis Millers defeat Duluth Hornets 3 games to 1 in playoffs